What Causes Hair Loss in Women?

Do you know slight hair fall is normal for any healthy fellow? About 50 to 100 hairs are estimated to fall every day in any case. But this is not commonly noticed, as there are over one hundred thousand hairs in the scalp. Little thinning is observed in people with aging. Apart from these normal or healthy conditions, there may be many other conditions including hormonal conditions when hair loss is not normal. In order to answer the question of what causes hair loss in women, let us have a look on these pathological conditions.

Hormonal Imbalances in Women or Men

Male pattern baldness or female pattern baldness are most common conditions of unhealthy hair fall. These conditions are genetic and work through effects of certain sex hormones. There is a unique pattern of hair loss in such cases. It is quite more common in men than in women. One differential feature is that the symptoms are visible at an early agemostly when an individual attains puberty.

Hormonal factors are also responsible for temporary hair loss. Hormone imbalances in women may cause hair loss during pregnancy, when a woman stops taking contraceptive pills, at the time of childbirth or at the time of beginning of menopause.

What Causes Hair Loss in Women, Other Diseases

There are a number of medical conditions with which hair loss is associated as a common symptom. The following conditions are the main conditions amongst them.

Alopecia areata: It is a kind of allergic condition when the defense mechanism of the body itself starts attacking the hair follicles. There are small circular regions where hairs are lost in patches.

Hyperthyroidism/hypothyroidism: The thyroid gland is an endocrine gland that secrets hormones into blood to regulate overall functions of body. Any fall in the level of thyroxin (the key hormone secreted by the thyroid gland) or hyperactivity of the gland can result in hair loss. Mostly it is temporary condition and hairs start growing again when normal levels of hormones are resumed with the help of proper treatment.

Skin disorders: Skin scarring conditions like lichen planus and also some lupus conditions can lead to loss of hairs from the affected part of the body. The symptoms in these cases are permanent.

Infections: It is a temporary and reversible condition of scalp and skin when hair loss is associated with some infections. Once the infection is removed with the help of topical applications and oral medications, hair loss treatment stops and thick hairs may again grow.

When Medications Can Cause Hair Fall

Arthritis, hypertension, cancer and depression are examples of the conditions feared with hair loss. Hair loss in these conditions is not due to the medical condition itself but due to the medications that are used to treat them.

Miscellaneous Causes:

There can still be other causes of varied nature that may cause hair fall. Any abrupt change in the physique for any reason whatsoever like losing or gaining the weight abruptly, high grade fever, or a mental shock may result in hair fall.

Besides, there is a condition known as hair pulling disorder in which people cannot resist their urge to continuously pull their hair. This too may lead to patches of hair lost from the scalp.

Pigtails and cornrows are the hair styles in which the hair are subject to excessive traction. It may eventually lead to hair fall.

Proper diagnosis is a must for hair loss treatment to be successful.

The condition of hair loss may have a varied range of origins. It is important to rule out the causes to arrive at an effective treatment. An experienced physician can make a proper diagnosis.